CRAIG CONLEY (Prof. Oddfellow) is recognized by Encarta as “America’s most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation.” He has been called a “language fanatic” by Page Six gossip columnist Cindy Adams, a “cult hero” by Publisher’s Weekly, and “a true Renaissance man of the modern era, diving headfirst into comprehensive, open-minded study of realms obscured or merely obscure” by Clint Marsh. An eccentric scholar, Conley’s ideas are often decades ahead of their time. He invented the concept of the “virtual pet” in 1980, fifteen years before the debut of the popular “Tamagotchi” in Japan. His virtual pet, actually a rare flower, still thrives and has reached an incomprehensible size. Conley’s website is OneLetterWords.com.

Do you deserve a nostalgic breather? Through the delicate workings of the music box, even the most dramatic compositions seem to play only for you. You’ll hear even a very familiar piece in a whole new way. Courtesy of home recording pioneer Ken Clinger, here’s today’s music box selection. It will sound surprisingly good even through built-in computer speakers, and it will cut through the ambient noise of the office without being distracting.